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Newsletter Issue 4
Term 2 - 19 June 2024
Principal’s Update
Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag, Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat deekha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Καλημέρα, Mālō e lelei, Greetings everyone
Despite staffing remaining a challenge in this time of winter chills and sickness (at time of writing one quarter of our team are unwell and 20% of our students) there are lots of positive learning experiences and school improvements taking place around our kura. We have been blessed with community members stepping in wherever they can to support. This makes a huge difference to morale and therefore the learning environment our children experience. Thank you.
Road Patrol continues to be one of the key areas in which having extra adults to supervise in an ongoing way would mean our teachers and leaders were not so stretched. If you are able to assist with this, please get in touch with Nadine Dechapunya nadine@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Learning
I have been fortunate to have been in a few classrooms recently, seeing great learning in action, and I find myself reflecting on the ‘new’ approaches currently being voraciously reported (and hotly debated) in the media.
At Bellevue, phonics (teaching the correlation of sounds with letters and letter groups) is explicitly taught across our age groups - and it has been for some time. Writing and mathematics practice happens daily; both for a sustained, focused period and integrated through learning experiences that utilise students' interests, backgrounds and cultures as a platform for engaging learning. Handwriting practice is a regular part of classroom routines. Students are assessed both formally (summatively) at least twice a year, and informally (or formatively - the method that we know has the most impact on teaching and learning) in an ongoing way that informs both student and teachers next steps.
Last year, we had more than thirty students arrive who are learning English as their second language. These students now make up 30% of our school roll and the team are working hard, adapting their teaching programmes to provide the best learning experiences for these students, upskilling along the way.
Alongside this academic focus, and very importantly for a balanced curriculum, our student led pedagogies; learning through play, self directed projects and student led leadership provide a multitude of opportunities for the application of skills and strategies in highly engaging contexts which foster critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and problem solving.
Recognising that the best learning is multifaceted, holistic and child-centered - and that each child is an individual - any ‘new’ approaches presented as ‘quick fixes,’ that will attend to the needs of everyone in one fell swoop, risk narrowing the curriculum and should be considered with caution.
At Bellevue we continue to consider effective pedagogies alongside neuroscience (how the brain learns) and cognitive psychology (the importance of mindset and how we think) to design learning that attends to the needs, interests and passions of the students we have the privilege of working with.
Some examples of this from the last week:
Peer mediators daily solving problems in the playground and around the school.
Kapa Haka led by Tessa Finnigan and Whaea Jayjay leading the wonderful Term 2 Pōwhiri we held last Thursday to welcome our new students and staff. Especially special as we welcome Whaea’s own youngest child to our kura.
Students from Hub 5 working with Megan Walters on storyboarding, character development and scriptwriting for our end of Term 3 production.
Hub 3 students writing about a fictional character - a Chinese gentleman - using information shared by the students with Chinese heritage in their class.
Student voice being collected to inform refreshed playground markings.
A wonderful opportunity to listen to one of our newer students for whom English is a second language who has shifted 11 reading levels since his arrival at the end of 2023!
Our heritage language group, run by Deeann, continues to provide opportunities for those who speak Mandarin and Sinhala to connect and speak in their first language.
The Rocket Room and junior hub, despite working around a building project in Room 5 and 6, continue to offer a settled, supportive transition to school with a focus on developing oral language, collaboration and learner mindset.
Explicit teaching of grammar, within the context of how to write a report at Level 3 of the curriculum; sentence structure, punctuation, varied sentence beginnings, lead sentences.
Matariki preparations are well underway with tamariki engaged in learning about the whetū (stars) that is cultural, astronomical and creative.
Year 6 students designing their own classroom plans and creating games that could be used in a carnival day.
Matariki Community Evening
Please join us next Wednesday evening for what is always a wonderful evening to connect, celebrate, reflect on the past and look to our future with our community.
Bellevue Mural - Now Complete!
Last year as part of our Tūrangawaewae (standing place) learning focus, our Hub 4 students gathered student voice about what made Bellevue special. They discussed the things that they thought reflected our school locality and community, feeding all of this information to a mural artist, Preehya Patel, who used this to inspire a beautiful mural for our administration office that will greet you when you enter the school. Their aim was to improve ‘their place’ with images and information that reflected ‘their place’ which could be enjoyed by students now and into the future.
It is not quite complete as there are QR codes to come that link to students talking about our kura (school), but do please pop in and take a look - or enjoy the photo below!
Whānau Hui
Thanks to those families who attended our hui for Māori Whānau last night. It was good to connect after a few busy terms interrupted this. For those who could not attend the slides from the evening are now up on our website and linked HERE for your information.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you wish to know more or get involved, otherwise we hope to see you at our next one.
Last Chance to Share Your Thoughts on Health & PE At Bellevue
We would also like to draw your attention to our Biannual Health & PE consultation survey later in the newsletter. Thank you to the 9/240+ families who have completed this to let us know their thoughts. Luckily there is still time! You have until 4pm Friday this week to participate in the survey and go in to win a $50 grocery voucher.
Reporting Trial Update
We are in the final two weeks of our six month trial of new reporting processes that we hope work better for our whānau. Please note the table included at the end of this section (taken from Tāhurangi - the Ministry of Education’s new portal for curriculum content) which helps to outline the difference between more traditional ways of reporting and information sharing that research shows informs learning. Once you have participated in your child’s Three Way Conference in the final week of the term, we invite you to give us your feedback on our new reporting processes. This includes the Seesaw learning stories, curriculum posts and three way conferences using the Bellevue Poutama to show your child’s progress against the curriculum.
Please note that, so we can use your feedback to inform our approach to the second half of the year, there will be a very quick turnaround on this feedback. Paper forms for feedback will be given out at the Three Way Conferences. Please return these to the office or your child’s whānau teacher before the end of the term. A link to the digital form (the same form) will be included in the final newsletter of the term with a week to complete it.
Reminders
Three Way Conferences (2 & 3 July) - To book a time to speak with your child’s teacher between 3.15pm - 8pm on Tuesday 2 July or 3.15pm and 6.30pm on Wednesday 3 July please follow this link to School Interviews look for the ‘Make a Booking’ button top right, and enter the code vm95x.
Parking - We have regular comments made regarding parking in our streets by both neighbours and our kindergarten at the moment. Please, please go slowly and park considerately in our neighbouring streets for the safety of everyone.
Swimming Sports - As outlined in our 20 March newsletter, there will be no Northern Zone Swimming Sports this year. This will not affect our Term 4 annual swimming lessons for all students.
2023 Annual Reports now available online - Last year's Annual Report (Analysis of Variance) and financial statement have been published on the school website. The report contains information about last year's annual goals and the school's end of year financial position. Please go to the Board page of our website to view these if you are interested.
Ngā mihi nui
Annette
Remember to take a look at the Bellevue Website for longer term information (Parent Portal) or follow our closed group Facebook Page for quick updates or reminders.
Production planning in progress!
Welcome
Haere mai ki te kura o Bellevue. Welcome to the following students and their whānau. It is great to have you in our Bellevue Learning Community.
Harrison - Room 4
Oscar - Room 5
Jacob - Room 14
Thank you
- An enormous thank you to the wonderful staff and community members who have ‘jumped in’ to cover road patrol over the past couple of weeks when we have been really stuck due to sickness. You know who you are!
- To Peter Dixon and (the late) Diana Lavington for their donation of the book ‘Silly Poems and Rhymes’ written by Brian Meynell and illustrated by Samantha Hart for our school Library.
To assist our families with locating our Attendance Procedures, please note that the below link now takes you to a 'quick link' on our website to the Attendance Procedures in PDF form.
Please do always contact the office (office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz), or call and leave a message for absences. Do not reply to this newsletter as your message may not be seen.
Username bellevue-newlands, password 'grow'
ICAS Assessments 2024
Please note there is a change to the Writing assessment date originally published.
Bellevue School offers interested families the chance for their children to participate in the ICAS Assessments in:
English (Reading)
Writing
Mathematics
Science
All of these assessments are online. The cost of each of the assessments is $21.50, EXCEPT Writing which is $27.75.
This competition takes place each year in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Pacific region and South Africa. ICAS Assessments are designed to recognise and reward academic excellence. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of learning. For more information please follow THIS LINK.
The assessments are challenging and provide an opportunity, particularly for students of high academic ability, to gain a measure of their own achievement in an external assessment situation. We would not advise that your child sit these if they are a less confident learner or would become anxious in an exam situation.
If you are uncertain about whether or not your child should participate please talk to their whānau teacher.
The dates for the ICAS Assessments at Bellevue in 2024 are:
Writing - Wednesday 7 August
English - Thursday 15 August
Science - Thursday 22 August
Maths - Thursday 29 August
A notice has already been emailed to all Hub 4 and 5 families about registering for these assessments.
A reminder that entries and payment must be in no later than 3pm on Monday 22 July (first week back in Term 3)
Disco
Bellevue School Disco raised a total of $1,313. WOW! A wonderful effort by all, especially our student council members for the planning of a very successful and fun evening!
Whakawhanaungatanga Fridays
This next Whakawhanaungatanga is Friday 9th August (11:50am - 1:05pm).
Please note: that due to the current build working happening at school, this session will only be going ahead in fine weather. We will advise via Facebook on the morning, but if you are unsure please contact the school office.
During Whakawhanaungatanga Fridays children are:
1. Learning in rich and authentic contexts, relevant to their own experiences and interests.
2. Developing dispositional skills, such as collaboration, risk taking, and leadership.
3. Living values that we hold dear at Bellevue School, such as empathy, integrity, resilience, and creativity.
We warmly invite whānau to come along and play, explore and learn alongside your child/ren during any of the sessions this year. There is no need to commit in advance and you are welcome to stay for as little or as long as you are able. We would love to see you. Sessions will run this year from 11:50am - 1:05pm on any of these days. On arrival, please head to the office and you will be able to find where your child/ren will be for the afternoon.
Matariki Celebration Evening
On Wednesday 26th June 2024 from 5:30pm - 7pm we are hosting our annual Matariki Celebration Evening at Bellevue. Each hub will be displaying their learning about one or two Matariki stars. We will also have our student’s calendar art on display. Please bring your own kai, we are unable to provide hāngī this year. If your child is in senior Kapa Haka please make sure they're at the hall at 5pm.
Can you help Hub 3?
Hub 3 are collecting yoghurt pottles for a project towards the end of the term. If your family eats yoghurt, please can you save any clean, empty containers and drop them off to Room 11 and encourage your children to do the same if they have a yoghurt at school. We need HEAPS so continue to drop them off until Week 9. Thank you SO much for your help!
Spare clothes
With the winter months bringing more rain and mud, please make sure your child has a spare change of clothes in their bag.
BIANNUAL HEALTH AND PE SURVEY
$50 PRIZE DRAW!
Every two years schools ask for feedback from their community about Health Education. Parents, whānau and caregivers are invited to share what is important to them in relation to Health Education and the needs of their child/ren.
This information is carefully considered when determining the future Health Education at Bellevue School. Please share your thoughts so that the health programmes that are available at our school meet the needs of our tamariki.
This survey will close on Friday 21 June at 4pm.
To thank you for taking part, these families will go into a draw for a $50 grocery voucher.
Please follow this link to complete the survey: Health and PE survey 2024
New Entrants—Enrol Now!
We encourage you to enrol your preschoolers as soon as they turn 4. This assists with future planning for our kura and classes. Out of zone enrolment applications close approximately six months prior to commencement date so it is important to submit these early to ensure you are in the ballot. We accept up to five out of zone applications per term.
Important information about the Bellevue School enrolment scheme (zone)
If you have preschoolers at home that you are planning to enrol at Bellevue School in the future, here are a few important things to know and put into action:
1. If you are living outside of the Bellevue School enrolment zone, then your preschooler(s) will need to be processed as an out of zone application. Please let us know, if you haven’t already, of any future enrolments at Bellevue School from your family. It helps greatly with our planning to know well in advance. And if we know then we can also prompt you as to when you need to get your out of zone application in.
2. It is very important that out of zone applications are received by the application deadline of Friday 28 June 2024, for enrolment from Saturday 14 October 2024 to Tuesday 17 December 2024. We cannot accept any out of zone applications if they are not received by the deadline advertised for the enrolment period your child is due to start school in. The deadline can sometimes be up to six months prior to your child actually starting school.
3. Even if your preschooler(s) are in zone, please get your enrolment in to us as soon as possible to enable us to plan ahead. We need this information to be able to work out how many out of zone applications we can accept in each enrolment period.
If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, please call the school office and talk to Amanda.
School Photos
Forms were sent home yesterday for anyone who wants to request a Family/Sibling photo. If you do want one of these, please fill out the form and return it to the school office before next Tuesday 25th.
A quick reminder of how our school photos work;
On photo day (Tuesday 25th June)
- All students will be photographed individually and in their classes
- Requested family/sibling photos are taken
After photo day:
- Approximately 1-2 weeks after photo day, personalised order forms will be sent home.
- Families will have time to order online before the close off day.
- Approximately 3 weeks after the close date, completed photos will be returned to school in class lots.
PARKING ISSUES
Bellevue Terrace
Despite ongoing reminders, dangerous parking during drop off and pick up is still occurring on Bellevue Terrace.
This is a serious safety concern for students walking to and from school and stops our road patrollers from being able to operate safely.
Under no circumstances is parking on the yellow lines, school driveway or in neighboring driveways acceptable.
*CARS THAT ARE SEEN PARKED UNSAFELY WILL NOW BE PHOTOGRAPHED*.
Bellevue Kindergarten
A large number of school families are using the Bellevue Kindergarten driveway, causing lots of dangerous driving and congestion for our kindergarten families.
PLEASE DO NOT use the kindergarten driveway.
AA Insurance Big Little Sponsor
If you would like to nominate our school to win $10,000 worth of sports equipment, please click on the link below. The more nominations we get the greater the chance of us winning!
This is our platform to publish great writing from students across the school.
Please pop onto our website here to view a collection of great writing from our students.
Hi Bellevue whānau!
A couple of key updates from our team this week.
Our committee meeting went great last week, with some new ventures being planned for the next two terms. Thank you to all that attended!
Below is an update on our events that are coming up soon:
Matariki Celebration Evening – 26th June
In our last update, we advised that we will not have hangi meal at this event.
However, the students Kids Art Works pieces will be on display!
Kids Art Work
Your tamariki’s art work will be displayed in their respective classroom zones as part of the Matariki Celebration Evening.
Via Kids Art Works, we can get your child’s pieces of art turned into some pretty neat products for purchase, making fantastic gifts for family and friends!
Orders close Friday 2nd August 2024, the information and pricing is coming home with your child at the end of Term 2. Digital links to their artwork can be provided by their teacher if you have not had a chance to view the artwork in class.
Orders can be placed online here: https://forms.gle/Su9FQZPFmtG8BMqV7
End of Term Pizza
Grab your child a last-day-of-term lunchbox treat brought to you by FUNdraisers & Domino’s!
Order information for this term is being sent home in school bags this week.
NOTE: The order form looks different! This is to convey and clarify some order information.
We are also actively promoting online ordering for this event. Ordering online will help to reduce the processing time by our volunteer FUNdraisers team.
There are 3 options for ordering, and online orders are preferred. You can pay online (via bank transfer to the school account) or with cash/ pocket money.
Pizzas are $5 each. Gluten free surcharge is $3 ($8 per pizza)
Orders can be placed online here: https://forms.gle/QNkhCjhRK7auF6PN9
FUNdraisers Committee Meetings
Next meeting: 1st August 2024
Meetings will now be held at 6.15pm (in the school staff room when possible) in week 2 and also week 7 of each term.
If you have capacity to take on being an incredibly valued member of our community and committee, please join us! You can contact Rebecca by email for information at fundraisers@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Community Notices
Kapai Kidz Holiday Programme
We will be operating from the school hall from 08-15 July. All enquiries to linda@kapaikidz.co.nz Mobile 021 409641 or book via our website www.kapaikidz.co.nz Space is limited, secure your spot!
Important Dates
Thursday 20 June
Bellevue Board Meeting 6:30 - 8:30pm
Tuesday 25 June
School Photo Day
NZ Hockey, pp Thursday 27 June
Wednesday 26 June
School-wide Matariki Celebration Evening 5:30 - 7pm
Friday 28 June
Matariki Public Holiday - School closed
Tuesday 2 July
3-Way Conferences 3:15 - 8pm
Wednesday 3 July
3-Way Conferences 3:15 - 6:30pm
Thursday 4 July
Newlands Intermediate School Open Evening 7pm
Friday 5 July
Last day of Term 2
Monday 22 July
First day of Term 3
Thursday 1 August
Newlands Intermediate School in Action Morning 9am
Saturday 31 August
Newlands Intermediate Enrolments Close
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Email: office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Phone: 04 4787037